Kenneth A. Camp's Blog, page 18

Is Adoption a Covenant Relationship?

The term “covenant” is of Latin origin (con venire), meaning a coming together. It presupposes two or more parties who come together to make a contract, agreeing on promises, stipulations, privileges, and responsibilities.

I think of marriage as a covenant. Sure marriage is a partnership or agreement that is legally binding. One important fact is that this kind of covenant is between two equal parties capable of making a mutual decision.

I also believe that my relationship with God is a covenant. Throughout the Old and New Testament, God refers to His relationship with His people as a covenant relationship. However, different from a marriage covenant, this relationship is not between two equal parties. God bases our relationship with Him on His promises and His ability to uphold them.

Is adoption of a child a covenant relationship?

So what about when we adopt a child? Is that a covenant relationship?

It is a legally binding relationship. When we adopted our son, we stood before a judge and witnesses stating that we accepted the privilege and responsibility of becoming his parents.

And if we decided to disrupt (terminate) the adoption, we would again have to go before a judge to nullify the adoption. Just like a marriage.

I know that in our culture, marriage is often looked upon as simply a legal agreement. If it doesn’t work out, then whatever, just get a divorce.

But, again, how does God view the marriage relationship?

I believe He sees marriage as a covenant relationship. A relationship bound until death. It’s an amalgamation. Once married, my life blended with my wife’s life. Like two different metal melted together or amalgamated. How do you separate that without causing irreparable damage?

I see adoption the same way. When I said “I will” when before the judge and witnesses, I accepted the responsibility to be my son’s father, our lives began to melt together. In our case, they already had because he was our foster son for 15 months.

However, many who adopt, regardless if the adoption is from a private domestic organization, foster care, or international, if things don’t go well, they simply (it’s not really simple at all) decide to end the relationship. In the adoption world, that’s called a “disruption”.

So, just like marriage, if the going gets too tough, they bail. I have heard it said that if a family disrupts an adoption, then it was so that the child could find the right family for them.

That makes me want to say a bad word!

We have lost the meaning of commitment. We follow the mantra, “Don’t I deserve to be happy!” above all else.

What if God approached His relationship with us that way?

I know that I cause Him grief. I am the problem child. The unfaithful spouse. The rebellious one.

That describes us all.

Yet, God upholds His covenant with us. He doesn’t reject us. Once we are His, we are His!

I think you got the idea where I stand on this. But please understand something. Through the 27 plus years of marriage, we have had very difficult challenges. In the almost five years of our son being in our family, we honestly have times when we wonder what we got ourselves into.

None of that changes that both my marriage and the adoption of my son are covenant relationships. Therefore, instead of moving on, I choose to find ways to make it work. No matter how difficult. (And often it is my fault it’s difficult!)

If we commit to adopt a child, we covenant. His life becomes melded with our lives. So the question in my mind isn’t whether we can or should disrupt an adoption, but rather how do we navigate the waters when they become tumultuous? How can we learn to parent children from a hard place better?

What are your thoughts about adoption disruption?

What Do Your 2016 Goals Reveal about Yourself?

A new year. Resolutions for some. Others call them goals. Many don’t bother at all.

Regardless of where you fit, I am guessing that if you did set goals or make resolutions they look something like this:

Eat less.
Exercise more.
Plan a certain vacation.
Start a new project/business/hobby.
Make more money.
Spend more time with family and friends.

All good things for sure. Typically we make resolutions or set goals at the beginning of the year that focus on self-improvement. And, certainly goals like these help us accomplish a mission.

I encourage you to segment your goals into different categories. Something like this:

Personal

Physical
Spiritual
Relational


Business/Work
Mission

Have you set goals before that focused on the mission you have while here on earth? Maybe you need to figure out in 2016 what that mission is. Or if you know, how can you embrace it this year?

It could look something like this:

Support 1 new missionary family.
Volunteer with my charity or ministry of choice once a month.
Invite 1 new family/neighbor into our home for a meal each month.
Baby sit children of a foster family 4 times during the year.
Go on one short-term mission trip with family.
Mentor/disciple one new person this year.
Pay off debt in order to invest in others.

If we understand the importance of the mission given us, maybe we ought to prioritize this list above other goals. Give the mission in our life our best to offer instead of our leftover time, money, energy…hmm…I need to ponder that thought.

This is my over-arching goal for 2016—to make the mission that God has called me too to be my main focus in life. In many ways, I know what that mission is, I need to embrace it. Prioritize it.

If that resonates with you, then join me in this journey.

I am close to re-focusing my website around this journey. I still will blog about topics like adoption/foster care and international mission, because they are part of my mission. I will also blog about a few other things that are a part of that mission. I will share successes and failures; resources I have found; things I have learned.

But if you have no idea what your mission is, I will speak to this also. In fact, I will soon have a free ebook about discovering you mission in this life. It will be available to everyone who subscribes to my website. Be sure and join today so you don’t miss that freebie!

I am also excited to launch a new podcast soon that will focus on these topics as well. Stay tuned for that!

You need to know that as a subscriber to KennethACamp.com you will get free content throughout the year, some that that will not be available anywhere else.

I hope you’re compelled to do one of two things

If you don’t know what your mission is, I hope you discover in 2016 the reason you are here on this planet!
If you do have an idea of what your mission is, then I hope you feel compelled to set some exciting goals in 2016.

2015 Reflections from My Journal

Throughout the year I use my journal to record events, to process thoughts, and to dialogue with God. Journaling helps me to remember these things which lends to a more accurate perspective of life. I tend to forget what God has done in my life, things that have happened (both good and bad), and thoughts, goals, and accomplishments.

In the moment when journaling, I benefit by processing my thoughts and staying focused in my prayer life. But if I never went back and read entries, I would lose all that perspective. So, at least during this time of year, I read back through my journal.

I am always surprised at how much I forget. And since I have a young son, I notice how quickly things change in the span of just one year.

Each year it reminds me about things overcome, goals set (some accomplished and some not) and yes, a few regrets.

Would you like to see what I pulled from this years journal? Here are 20 reflections from my 2015 journal:

To begin 2015 I journaled a prayer that included:

Guidance as a husband, father, friend, writer, and any role He placed me in.
Anointing on our family.
Favor on business decisions.


I prayed more intentionally over my son when he was a foster child than now that he is my adopted son. Why do I let the sense of urgency change? I prayed this prayer—”Lord change me. I want to be a man of prayer and ridiculous faith. I want to be a loving husband and a kind father.
Made this entry on 1/14/15 – “Played a lot of basketball this morning. Had good energy. I know one day I won’t be able to play anymore, so thank you God for the days you have given me.” I had surgery for a ruptured tendon on 9/23/15. Three month into recovery I don’t know yet if my basketball days are over.

Who I spend time with is important. I journaled a lot about different guys I hang out with and the influence they are in my life.


Focus is vital. I started a lot of different projects during the year, but finished only a couple. I attribute some of that to a lack of focus.


God’s plans are not always my plans. I began the year planning on moving some things off my plate so I could focus on some of those projects. God had other plans I guess. They are always better.


I get addicted to technology. I think this is a major struggle of our generation.


I prefer a simple model of church. This is what I mean by simple church:

Less program driven and more community driven.
Easier for authentic relationships.
Mission focused rather than attendance focused.
Higher percentage of funds going directly to the mission.


I need to remember that my adopted son has an implicit sense of loss. So change affects him deeply. Remembering this gives me more patience when he exhibits bad behavior.
I have a lot to learn about persistence. Persistence and focus. Good characteristics to pursue in 2016.
When I write down my goals… Many years ago I learned how writing down goals affects my actions. I tend to think that I fall way short of my goals, but looking back at goals I wrote down at the beginning of the year, many have come to fruition.
Time flies by. Don’t we all know this all too well.
God heals. Journaling helps remind me of this.
God responds to our cries. A lot of my journaling is crying out before God. For myself, for my family, for my friends, for His people. It’s good to read how He responds.
God places people in our lives at the right time. Amen.
God’s timing is perfect. Amen again!
Where I am weak, He is strong. He continues to meet me in my weakness with His strength.
Parenting a child from a hard place is a challenge. 
I still need to learn how to abide. I know intellectually that I can rest in Him, but I struggle with living that out.
God is who holds things together. Thank You God. To You Be the Glory!

 

Looking back helps see the way forward.

Top 10 Blogs from 2015

Thank you!

Wow! Another year has flown by. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has read my content, encouraged me, and shared my blogs this year.

I continue to learn a lot about not only how to write, but also how to create and provide content that benefits you. As I have shared in a recent blog—Discover and Engage Your Passion, I have some big changes on the way for my site. I am looking forward to 2016!

Top 10 Blogs from 2015

However, before leaving 2015 I want to share with you the Top 10 Blogs from 2015. You made these the top 10 by views, shares, and comments.

Again…Thank You!

You help get the word out about this site and its content. I don’t expect you to share or talk about content that isn’t worth sharing, because in a way you are attaching your reputation to it. But when you do share a blog with your social media networks or by word of mouth—I can’t say thank you enough. That shows me love as a writer like nothing else can.

So here are the Top 10 Blogs from 2015:

I Am the Adopted Kid! (1/27/2015)
Foster Care Through the Eyes of a Foster Family (5/29/2015)
Do You Know What a Safe Family Is? (11/17/2015)
What I Learned from Dr. Karyn Purvis about Caring for At-Risk Children (2/27/2015)
Year Three Adoption Update (9/18/2015)
7 Four Letter Words I Want my Son to Learn (6/19/2015)
Warning: Program Driven Church Can’t Sustain the Art of Neighboring (3/13/2015)
One Thing an Adopted Child Really Needs (11/03/2015)
Foster Care through the Eyes of a CPS Employee (5/8/2015)
Foster Care through the Eyes of One Who Aged out of the System (5/12/2015)

Take Aways…

9 out of 10 are about foster care or adoption. Wow!
The top blog—I Am the Adopted Kid! got a lot of traffic because I submitted it in a contest. It won 2nd place in the Story Telling category.
4 blogs are interviews. This is one reason I decided to add podcasts to the site in 2016. I am very excited about this! If you know someone that would be a good interview (foster or adopted person, foster or adoptive parent, missionary, ministry leader, someone who is living out their passion, etc.) please contact me!
4 blogs are about our family in relation to adoption and parenting. I know I learn a lot from hearing how others deal with life challenges. I hope you can learn from ours! Another reason I am excited about the podcasts. Danielle, my wife, has agreed to do some together with me where we will discuss these kinds of topics.

Incentive to sign up for my blog posts via email…

Not only will you never miss the blog articles you want to read (You can now choose which topics you want to get in your email), but throughout 2016 I will send free content to email subscribers only.

This content either will not be available anywhere else or if it is, it won’t be free.

But for all email subscribers it will be my gift to you.

When you fill out the form below, select the passions (categories) that interest you. Early in 2016, you will only get the blogs you want to get in your email.

Subscribe to our mailing list
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What Is Your Passion?

Foster Care/Adoption
Missions
Writing
Non Profit/Volunteerism
Discipleship/Mentoring
Generosity/Giving
I want to get all the blogs!

The Joy of Creating Memories

Enjoying Year 5 at the Beach

For many years now, my parents have rented a beach house or condo on the Texas coast the week of Thanksgiving. Then whoever in the family wants or can, for however long, shows up. For the past five years my parents have rented the same house. Some years the weather is cold and rainy, exactly what one would expect for the end of Thanksgiving.

-The House We've Stayed at for the Past 5 Years

But some years, like this one, we are blessed with mild to warm weather such that some brave the water to jump waves or ride a boogie board.

I don’t have any profound thoughts or insight to share here… Just a few memories along with some fun pictures. I hope you enjoy!

The first year our family stayed at this house was the first Thanksgiving that our son was with us. He was still a foster only child. We weren’t even sure that he would be with us when we made Thanksgiving plans. I knew that we either were going to be enjoying watching a one-year-old experience the beach for the first time. Or…we would be recovering from the bittersweetness of him going back to his biological family after living with us for several months.

The following year, our son officially a part of our forever family, was walking and talking now. For some reason he thought that the beach house was his cousin Isaac’s house. So much so that when he went to his cousin’s real house a few months later, he couldn’t understand why we didn’t ride the ferry and where the beach went.

Fast forward to year five at this beach home—Our son counts down the time as Thanksgiving gets close, incessantly asking us how many more days, again he asks, how many more days til we go to the beach!

Returning to the same house for five years in a row has given me a benchmark that helps me tuck away memories with our son, an easy way for my mind to keep track of God’s blessings, our son’s adoption into our family, how he has changed each year. He has gone from crawling and playing just outside the back deck in the sand dunes to running up and down the beach and jumping waves.

I know this is a little self-serving, but I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the beauty of the beach from this year’s annual Thanksgiving beach trip…year 5 for our son.

Click to view slideshow.

 

 

 

When It’s Hard to be Thankful

Holidays Are Hard for Foster Children

I think for most, Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season is a time to spend with family. I know, that’s not always a reason to celebrate. (tongue in cheek) But for many, it’s a reminder that you really don’t have a family.

Here are a few quotes from children in foster care about the holidays:

Holidays to this day is very hard! I will sit back and remember they way it used to be when the whole family was together, and I would shed a tear. I have my own family traditions now and I love it, but it’s still hard to remember the way it was. It makes me miss my brothers, sisters, and my other family members (miss them more than anything).Age 21, from Florida, in foster care more than 3 years




I have never had a real family to spend the holidays with ever since I went into foster care. I have been in a different home every Christmas. This one fact ruins Christmas for me every year.Age 17, from Washington, in foster care 16 years




It’s hard on me because my siblings are adopted out and I float around every year to different people’s homes. Yet, I still feel like an outsider. I don’t get gifts and only give to people I know or have become acquainted with since I moved here 1 1/2 yrs ago. It’s hard on me. I miss my father who raised me and gave us everything we wanted for Christmas when he was alive. I know how it is around the holidays when everyone else is happy yet I am remembering old times and I’m not making any good new ones because I don’t know how by myself yet.Age 20, from Georgia, in foster care more than 3 years




The holidays for me are very sad. I miss my family, My mom, and my three sisters. My father? I could care less what happens to him. I haven’t seen my mom and my sisters for about 6 yrs. now. and I had to tolerate my father for about 4 years. I take 2 years out because he was never around. I smile a lot even when I’m not happy and on the holidays.Age 15, from Tennessee, in foster care less than 6 months








12 ideas for supportive adults to help their young person through the holidays

Prepare the foster youth what the holidays are like in your home. 

Knowing what to expect will help to decrease anxiety around the holidays. Avoid surprises and you will decrease seasonal tensions.

Prepare friends and family before you visit. 

Let people know in advance about new family members in your home. Surprising a host or hostess at the door with a “new” foster youth may set up an awkward situation — such as a scramble to set an extra place at the table — making the young person feel like an imposition right from the start of the visit.

Remember confidentiality. 

You may receive well intended but prying questions from those you visit with over the holidays. Think in advance about how to answer these questions while maintaining your youth’s confidentiality.

Arrange meeting your family in advance, if possible. 
Have extra presents ready.
Facilitate visits with loved ones. 

It is especially important during this time of year to help your young person arrange for visits with loved ones.

Help them make sure that their loved ones are ok.
Extend an invitation. 

If it is safe and allowed by your foster care agency, consider extending an invitation to siblings or bio- parents through the holidays.

Understand and encourage your youth’s own traditions and beliefs.
Assist in acquiring gifts and sending cards to their family and friends.
Understand if they pull away. 

Despite your best efforts, a young person may simply withdraw during the holidays. Understand that this detachment most likely is not intended to be an insult or a reflection of how they feel about you, but rather is their own coping mechanism. Allow for “downtime” during the holidays that will allow the youth some time to themselves if they need it.

Call youth who formerly lived with you. 

The holidays can be a particularly tough time for youth who have recently aged out of foster care. They may not have people to visit or a place to go for the holidays. In addition, young people commonly struggle financially when they first leave foster care. A single phone call may lift their spirits and signal that you continue to care for them and treasure their friendship.

– quotes and list adapted from www.fosterclub.com

We know that holidays are hard for children separated from their family. I hope this information will help you help any foster child in your life this season.

5 Ways We Can Go to the Nations without Leaving Our Community

Do We Really Have an Excuse for Not Taking the Gospel to the Nations?

Often we use excuses for not going to the nations as God’s Word commands us to do. The usual excuses are “not enough money” or “not enough time” or “my kids are too young/too old”.

Those excuses may have worked a generation or two ago here in America, but not any longer. Especially in urban communities where thousands of people from all over the world live, work, and go to school.

Simply, the world is becoming a smaller place.

Just at the University of Texas in Austin about 127 countries are represented. According to VisitHoustonTexas.com over 90 languages are spoken in the Houston area.

I am sure that these numbers reflect the community you live in as well. The question bow do you engage these people groups right at your doorstep?

Here are 5 ways we can go to the nations without leaving our community. I hope that you can add more ways or additional information about these 5:

Refugees. I know this is a hot topic right now with all that’s going on with Syrian refugees. If you want my take on that specific situation, read this blog—The Terror-Strickened Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis.. Regardless of your opinion about Syrian refugees, many refugee communities exist close to you. Government and faith-based agencies help refugee immigrants re-settle. All you need is to know how to do life here in America (how to use appliances, where to shop, how to use public transportation, etc.) and have a heart of compassion to reach out to refugees.
ESL. Teach English as a Second Language. Danielle taught ESL for a few years. She had students from Japan, Korea, and Belgium among others in her classes. Some were here with their spouse on work visas. Another was working as a nanny. Their desire to learn English gave Danielle an excellent opportunity to befriend them.
Business. How many people from a different country work at your place of employment? Do you know them personally? Have you ever invited them out to lunch or better yet, over to your home for dinner?
University. I don’t know of a college or university that doesn’t have international students. Students are searching, learning, and open to knowing about Christianity.
Neighborhood. Odds are you don’t have to go very far from your home to meet a neighbor from another country.

I know the thought of refugees and foreigners here on work visas stir up different emotions. But when we take an eternal perspective on life…what I call a Kingdom mentality…these things fade in comparison to the opportunity for someone to hear about the Good News possibly for the first time—maybe the only time.

A comment I have often heard from someone living here from a foreign country is that they have never been in an American’s home. How easy would it be to invite a refugee, ESL student, co-worker, student, or a neighbor over for dinner?

Maybe God is bringing the nations to our doorstep since many of us won’t actually go to where they are from…

Do You Know What a Safe Family Is?

An Interview with Alison Morriss

In the world of orphan care, we often focus on children who already need a family. We hear about the hundreds of thousands of children living in foster care homes, institutional housing, and orphanages. We hear the call to respond, and thankfully many do.

-The Morriss Family

But what if we also worked on prevention? What I mean is what if, when we think of orphan care, we also worked with at-risk families to prevent children from ever having to live in foster care or need adoption?

Wholistic Approach

I became open to a wholistic approach when we fostered our son. CPS removed him from his biological family and placed him with us as a foster only child. The goal was for reconciliation with his own family.

Yet Danielle and I were adoption motivated. That caused a tension point to say the least.

It affected the way I interacted with the biological family, how I prayed, etc.

But over time I interacted with the young parents and the extended family at family meetings and court hearings. I began to want them to succeed in what the state required of them to get their son back.

I know many times a biological family isn’t the best place for a child to grow up. But what about the times when all the family needs is someone to come alongside and mentor them?

Recently I was introduced to an organization that does just that. This organization gets involved before a child is removed by CPS or the state. It’s called Safe Families for Children.

Safe Families

I caught up with my new friend Alison Morriss, the Safe Families for Children (SFFC) Program Coordinator, for an interview about Safe Families. Please read the interview to learn more and hopefully get a different if not new perspective on caring for children from a hard place.

What is a Safe Family?

A Safe Family volunteers to care for the children of a family in need. This can be for one night or for many depending on how long it takes the biological family to get things together to provide a safe home for the children to return.

How is Safe Families for Children different from foster care or an adoption service?

The main difference–All involved do so voluntarily. The parents voluntarily give up their child. The Safe Family voluntarily keeps the child with no stipend.

Also, SFFC isn’t meant to be an adoption option. The goal is always family reconciliation.

How did you become involved with SFFC?

I have always wanted to adopt. My parents adopted a child from Colombia who is 16 years younger than me. My husband was a missionary kid in Mexico, and after we got married we moved back there to serve as missionaries. I volunteered at a Catholic orphanage.

We moved back to the States so my husband could go back to school. We lived in the suburbs of Chicago, and we began having kids. We had four girls. I never thought I would find myself living in suburbia America! I wanted to find a way to care for at risk or orphaned children.

That’s when I found SFFC in 2007. The founder, Dave Anderson is in Chicago. The ministry was just beginning. No training. No preparation. Just sign up.

Our first placement was a set of twin girls. I met Dave and the mother at a truck stop to get the girls!

Our family was now living on mission!

I worked with Dave in Chicago helping him develop the ministry. Then we moved to Houston in 2010.

I joined Lakewood church’s staff, and they began talking about launching Safe Families in Houston. Safe Family works with agencies and not directly with a church, so I met with Mark Tennant of Arrow Child and Family Services.

I went to work with Arrow in 2012 part-time to launch SFFC in Houston on a small-scale. Since 2012, SFFC has hosted about 20 kids providing around 2000 nights of care. That has saved CPS about $90,ooo by keeping them out of the custody of the state.

We moved to Austin in 2013. I continue to work part-time at Arrow to set up SFFC now in the Austin area.

How does a family volunteer with SFFC?

Fill out an application – 3 references
FBI fingerprints
Home study, but not as in-depth as for foster care or adoption. About 2 hours with a case worker
5 hours online training and 3 hours in person training

How much interaction is there between a Safe Family and the biological family?
A SFFC volunteer is very involved with the biological family. Hopefully over time you act as an extended family member. SFFC volunteers are encouraged to have daily contact to give updates on the children. Sadly some biological parents go absent.
A Family Coach is assigned to each host family who works as a liaison. The Family Coach’s main job is to mentor the biological family while the Host or Safe Family’s main purpose is to care for the children.
 If we can bring the bio family into our lives and not be afraid, we can mentor them to be healthy families. Much more effective than a parenting classes.
How can I find out more about Safe Families?

Best thing to do is go to Safe-Families.org to get general information, and to look for what is available closest to you.

Thank You Alison for taking the time to share with us about SFFC!

You can reach Alison Morriss via email—Alison.Morriss@arrow.org

Discover and Engage Your Passion

What are you passionate about? I’m not talking about painting your beer gut in Dallas Cowboy blue to convince me that your a fanatic Cowboy supporter.

Nor am I talking about your career, your possessions, maybe not even…gulp…your family. I’m referring to a passion that impacts others. A passion that changes another person’s destiny.

Does any passion like that exist for you?

I know for many of you one or more passion does! So much so that it’s a part of your identity. When others talk about you, your passion comes up in the conversation.

You have a passionate heart, but…

You might be like many that I talk to. You hear a story about an foster kid; about refugee families; about living life on life with your neighbors. Some kind of story that kindles a desire deep within you.

“If I knew how to help.” “If I had the financial means or time.” I hear something like that often.

So you have a passionate heart. You might even have a specific passion. Yet, you don’t know how to engage that passion. You don’t know how to rearrange your priorities or how to get involved.

You’re not alone!

I have no idea what you’re talking about!

I don’t think any of you are saying that. But you might be. I know that’s how many people live their lives. It’s all about themselves. If that does describe you, I hope to awaken what I believe God has planted within everyone of us—

A compelling need to reach out beyond ourselves to impact others in a positive way. He sends us.

Why Am I Telling You All of This?

I am talking about this because I am re-branding my site. Tweaking is more like it. I am learning that a person will spend only a few seconds on a new site to determine whether that site will help them or not.

I have written a lot about my passions, but what about you and yours? How can I help you discover and engage your passion(s)?

Some of you share the same or similar passions that I have like orphan care and mission work. I will keep writing about those.

But I know I can help others discover their passion too! So, I will write about that as well.

Value Proposition

So here is my value proposition—I Help Passionate People Discover Their Calling in this World and Help Them Learn How to Engage and Fulfill It. 

What do you think? I really do want your feedback?

My goal is to provide more clarity about what a reader will get from my site. My objective is to help you be “the Hero” in your own life, not read about me being one in my life!

Currently the tagline at the top of my site reads, “Missional Lifestyle”. I know that doesn’t mean much to most people.

I will replace it with a boiled down version of my value proposition like this—”Discover and Engage Your Passion!”

Other Changes

The best way to access my content is to be an email subscriber. That way you don’t have to remember to visit the site or catch a post on FB or Twitter. However, I realize that not everyone wants to get every post. Some want blogs about orphan care while others just want ones about missions.

So, I will soon give you the option of what kind of emails you want sent to you. So stay tuned for that!

Along those lines, I am also creating a short ebook about How to Discover Your Passion that I will give away to all email subscribers. It should be good!

Again, please let me know what you think about this direction I am taking. Will it benefit you? Is there other ways I can help you “be the Hero”? Leave comments here or on Facebook.

Why Will the Church Not Respond to the Call?

Take a look at this graphic from Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO). Please look carefully. The top number represents the number of children waiting in foster care in that state that can be adopted. The bottom number represents the number of churches in that state.

-by CAFO

What does it say to you?

One way to please God is to care for orphans.

God shares a few sure-fire ways to please him, and caring for orphans is one of them.

And the way I read His Word where He talks about caring for orphans, it’s not a suggestion. He usually says it as a command. He expects His children to care for those who need a family.

Makes sense to me. Didn’t He seek us out and adopt us into His family? Why would it not please Him when we do the same here on earth?

If I’m right that God’s not simply recommending that we care for orphans in our communities but is commanding that we respond, then why are we not responding? Sure, many are. But this graphic shouts at me that if the churches throughout our country would simply notice and respond, no child in foster care would have to wait for a forever family. Instead, families would have to wait for a child.

Do We Notice Them?

Look at some of the action words in the verses : seek, help, defend, fight, and care . These words call for an enthusiastic response. These words are the call of the Father’s heart to respond with action.

According to the Website, www.fortheorphan.org , five hundred thousand children in our nation are in the foster care system. More than twenty-eight thousand children in the state of Texas, where I live, are in foster care. That number only reflects the children who are in the custody of the state’s foster care system. Many other children live in unstable homes, on the streets, or in non-state group homes.

Think about your own community: Do you know how many children are in foster care in your county or city? How do you respond when you encounter a child who is in a vulnerable or at-risk family situation ? Do you notice them? It is evident that Father God notices such children , and He is calling us to not only notice them, but also to do something about the problem. Once children are in the foster care system, they remain for an average of two to three years. Two to three years! That is the average.

Kenneth A. Camp (2013-06-05). Adopting the Father’s Heart (Kindle Locations 192-193). WestBowPress. Kindle Edition.

How the Church Can Respond

As the infographic powerfully reflects, it won’t take many families from every church in adopt every child waiting in foster care. In fact, in most cases if one family from every other church adopted, most, if not all, of the children will get adopted.

It’s simple really.

Make caring for orphans and at-risk children a priority. Many churches focus on family ministry. This is family ministry.
Make it the norm and not the exception to have foster and adopted kids running around your church.
Work with struggling families as a way of preventing children needing adoption.
Provide training and support for families who do foster and adopt.
Educate everyone about working with at-risk children.

Let’s do our part to make that map look very different.